Wild garlic-nettle pesto

Spring is officially here and with it, the much anticipated new growing season. I’ve been so caught up in prepping the garden for sowing that I almost forgot the wild garlic. Sacrilege! So I crawled under the magnolia where I know I have plenty of wild garlic and found a very developed plant surrounded, to my delight, by many young plantlings. Young wild garliclings. I know, there is no need to add more words to the English language. But there is a need to come up with more pesto recipes. This time, wild garlic-nettle pesto.

Wild garlic growing under a magnolia

When I saw I had a lot more wild garlic than expected, I immediately decided to make this yummy wild garlic-nettle pesto

But why add stinging nettle to naturally delicious, mild garlic tasting wild garlic? You see, I have a ridiculous amount of nettle in my garden and it is only early spring! Not to mention that nettle is very healthy and that now is the perfect time to eat it. Did you know that nettle is an excellent spring detox herb? It is really beneficial to our bodies to eat nettle in March and April. And to do a nettle detox. More on than in another post.

This wild garlic-nettle pesto is delicious as a pasta sauce, swirled on soups and stews, topped on baked potatoes or as a side to perfectly roast chicken. You can spread it on sandwiches and use it as a salad dressing. Versatile, hum? It will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge. It freezes well, simply pour it into ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to resealable plastic bags.

Wild garlic-nettle pesto

You’ll need

50 g pine nuts (or any nut of your choice)

80 g sunflower seeds (or any seed of your choice)

30 g wild garlic

20 g stinging nettle

About 150 ml olive oil

50 g grated Parmesan cheese or vegetarian alternative

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Dash of lemon juice

To do

Roast the pine nuts and the sunflower seeds in a pan without any oil. Set aside and let cool.

Wearing rubber gloves, wash the nettle and the wild garlic thoroughly

Shake the leaves dry and transfer them to a food processor. Blitz to break up the leaves.

Add the pine nuts and sunflower seeds to the food processor.

Turn the machine back on and slowly pour in the olive oil until well blended.

<span></span>This wild garlic-nettle pesto is delicious as a pasta sauce, swirled on soups and stews, topped on baked potatoes or as a side to perfectly roast chicken. You can spread it on sandwiches and use it as a salad dressing. It will keep for up to two weeks in the fridge. Freezes well, simply pour it into ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to resealable plastic bags.

Ingredients

50 g pine nuts (or any nut of your choice)

80 g sunflower seeds (or any seed of your choice)

30 g wild garlic

20 g stinging nettle

About 150 ml olive oil

50 g grated Parmesan cheese or vegetarian alternative

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Dash of lemon juice

Instructions

Roast the pine nuts and the sunflower seeds in a pan without any oil. Set aside and let cool.

Wearing rubber gloves, wash the nettle and the wild garlic thoroughly

Shake the leaves dry and transfer them to a food processor. Blitz to break up the leaves.

Add the pine nuts and sunflower seeds to the food processor.

Turn the machine back on and slowly pour in the olive oil until well blended.

Spoon into a bowl and stir in the Parmesan cheese.

Add salt, pepper and the lemon juice to taste.

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If you feel that after eating this pesto your blood pressure has dropped to an uncomfortable level, or if you have low blood pressure, don’t blend the wild garlic with the nettle. Instead, finely chop it and stir it in with the Parmesan cheese.